Pulse
by SilverStarShine94
Summary: With every beat of her heart she knew this was wrong... That didn't mean she could stop it. ItaSaku.
1. Beat 1

**Pulse**

_Summary: _With every beat of her heart she knew this was wrong. That didn't mean she could stop it. Formerly **Hope.** _ItaSaku. _Vaguely Canon flavoured.

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_Beat One_

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It had been some time since Sakura had seen a fresh corpse.

The ones used for medical research were always perfectly clean, arranged as stiffly as a soldier in formation, and smelled like antiseptic. This was fresh; oozing, in disarray - grotesque. The fact that it hardly even bothered her in the slightest was probably the worst thing. Naruto looked mildly shocked - the rest of the group; perplexed. Sakura just knew that it had been too simple when she had watched Uchiha Itachi crumple beneath Naruto's strike.

Naruto completing a task Sasuke could not was shamefully unimaginable. She still imagined him as a twelve year old; bumbling and loud. Glancing over at him, she felt some relief that he was still alive and whole - tanned skin and features still present, correct and animated. It would not do to think of Gaara and what was happening to him that very instant - what would happen to Naruto if they captured him.

"This cannot be," Chiyo muttered, anxious for the first time.

"You know him?" Kakashi asked, though he probably already knew the answer.

"Yuura - a jounin of the Sand."

Naruto looked restless already, but Sakura turned her eyes back to the body. The niggling feeling that Tsunade had told her she must always - always- listen to began to signal an idea - half-formed and as fragile as an eggshell.

"A spy, perhaps..." She trailed off, knowing that wouldn't go down well.

Chiyo, predictably, shook her head and pursed her wrinkled lips until the thin lines around them deepened to trenches. "He worked hard as a leader for many years... Perhaps illusion was used."

"Those jutsu were the real thing," Kakashi said, unbending.

The idea grew and festered at the forefront of her mind. If anyone knew where Sasuke was, or how to find him, it would be Uchiha Itachi and...

"In order for them to use a technique like this they would have to be reasonably close," Sakura murmured, and stooped to press the still warm neck of the corpse to check for sure that there was no pulse.

Naruto obviously did not follow her line of thought. He shifted irritably from foot to foot and stared into the distance with a strained look in his blue eyes she was unfamiliar with. There was so much about him she was now unfamiliar with. Kakashi clearly caught her meaning - and she could tell by the steely look in his one dark eye that he did not approve. Not in the slightest.

"Forget about it," he said, dismissively, touching her on the shoulder lightly.

The touch of the tip of her fingers on the bare flesh of her neck slightly made her flinch away more than she entirely meant. The idea flashed fully in her mind as she eyed the gaping torso of the corpse critically. She placed a hand on Kakashi's bicep when he didn't remove his hand from her neck. Even though she didn't meet his eyes, Sakura could still feel the reproach in them. His muscles felt like steel beneath her hand, he squeezed her shoulder almost too tightly before he let go.

"Sure thing, Kakashi-sensei. Consider it forgotten."

She didn't.

A kernel of hope lodged itself in her heart and pulsed almost painfully with every beat.

...

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto touched her hand gently, lingered, but didn't hold on to it.

She tried to ignore the squirming feeling of guilt that crawled in her stomach as she thought about what she was about to do. _For Sasuke_, she added, in her mind. They hadn't even had time to wash since the fight two days before; she could feel the sticky flesh of Sasori's heart beneath her fingernails. The faint herbal smell of Chiyo was still on her clothes and hair.

That, coupled with a lack of chakra, and the ache of the newly healed wound in her stomach made her feel like she wanted to vomit.

"Do you..." he shifted from foot to foot, just as he shifted around the issue, "Are you still upset about Chiyo?"

"She died an honourable death," Sakura recited, calm expression ruined by the unshed tears in her eyes.

Naruto smelt like gunpowder and stale sweat and he had gotten so tall it felt like he could almost swallow her entirely. Once he had been shorter than her. His arms wrapped loosely around her, but quickly tightened. It felt as though she was being burned up by the sun - he was so warm and the orange of his jumpsuit was so bright against her stinging eyes. The effects of neutralised poison were still being felt in her body - sensitivity to light, vertigo, and slight loss of equilibrium...

When she only hung limply in his arms, he retracted from her slightly - a sigh rumbling from his chest. It might have made her feel like a stone cold bitch, but she knew he was used to this. After he removed his support she stumbled slightly, shamefully - another attack of vertigo making itself known. Now she would suffer the fallout that came with having a malevolent poison pulsing through her veins for any length of time.

"I'm sorry," she put her calloused palms to her face until she could see nothing.

She palmed away the trickle of tears on her cheeks before she looked at him again. His grin was so bright and wide it shamed the blazing, desert sun.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Sakura-chan."

Sakura was pleased she managed a shaky smile, and took his hand in her own, far smaller one. She didn't think he'd ever get used to how he'd grown. Naruto squeezed her hand almost hard enough to hurt.

_Nothing to be sorry for... If only you knew._

...

Pretending to receive a message from Tsunade that ordered her on an immediate, urgent mission was not difficult.

Naruto whined that it wasn't fair and took the chance to grab her hand again, greedily. Sakura knew that even allowing this kind of contact could be seen as leading him on, but - selfishly - she sought the comfort. Since her parents' death her need for tactile contact went almost unfulfilled save for moments like these.

She laughed as she peeled his fingers from hers one by one, teasingly - conscious of the way Kakashi watched them intently. Sakura forced herself to turn and wave once as she ran West from their position into the trees - careful to track their chakra as she ran.

She didn't relax until their signals receded beyond her reach. Tossing her head in a flicker of petal shaded strands, she turned her mind back to the task at hand.

This body - Yuura, she reminded herself - had not had a proper burial. There had been no time to spare for someone who might have been a traitor, who might have lead the Akatsuki right into the heart of the Sand. Rigor mortis had set in, but she was glad to see he had been left almost untouched by scavengers. Still, all that congealing blood and waxy flesh was not a pretty sight.

Sakura carefully removed one glove - studiously ignoring the tide line of dried blood that had formed at her wrists and each finger - and placed a hand on the cold forehead of the corpse. The texture of the skin was something like butter straight from the fridge; pliable, moist... Or maybe more like the cold, slimy skin of uncooked chicken.

Sakura tried to breathe through her mouth as her head started to spin again. She anchored herself with the memory of the warm, dry feeling of Naruto's hand as she sent a chakra probe into the corpse to feel for foreign chakra. Traces lingered by the cerebellum and the heart - her eyes flickered shut as she focused..._ Focused_...

A line swam before her closed eyes for an instant, wriggling like a worm on a hook - bright and hard to catch. Tracking by chakra was a skill few had but she could just about get by. The line would lead her to Uchiha Itachi, she knew, if she could move fast enough to catch him. Hopefully, the last day and a half would not have allowed him to get too far and she would have a chance.

Sighing, Sakura retracted her hand and flexed her stiff fingers. They still felt sore, and the odd splinter was still present, but not worth the effort of removing. . With her level of skill in the tracking discipline she would need something from the body to maintain sight of the line.

Now, the choice.

A section of the heart would be best - or perhaps the brain. The acidic burn of bile rose hot in the back of her throat, making her choke at the thought of touching a heart again. She knew her chances were better if she took it - that was the centre of chakra production, where _his_ would have leeched on to control Yuura's. Grimacing, Sakura drew a kunai and focused on one of Tsunade's lectures about dissection.

_The things I do for you, Sasuke. _

The ribcage was already partially torn open and twisted from Naruto's attack. Part of his organs had already turned to a mush that had dripped down onto the ground around him in a greying, wobbling mess that reminded her of jelly. Steeling herself, she stuck her hand up inside the ribcage and, with a loud crack, ripped it the rest of the way open from the inside. It wasn't as though she had never cut a body to pieces before, but she had seen this one die - and she felt shaken from her earlier fight.

His heart was cold, slippery, unmoving, and gushed blood down her arm when she ripped it from the body. Sakura squeezed it tightly to try and remove any excess blood. It was muscular and strong; a shinobi's heart and almost entirey filled the only empty pouch she had. The slight extra weight against her thigh and the heavy, fleshy noises it made when she landed too sharply were a constant reminder of her task.

Closing her eyes, Sakura groped for that precious, white-gold line before following it in the direction it stretched.

She had expected his chakra to be darker somehow.

...

For the first few hours, Sakura did nothing but run at break-neck speed through the forests of the River Country - barely stopping. The chakra line remained when she closed her eyes - constantly squirming, and becoming alternately brighter and dimmer. When the sun began to dip towards the horizon Sakura found that she couldn't ignore her shaking muscles any more.

Her stomach ached where Sasori's sword had impaled her every time she landed on a branch, or stretched too far to jump. Stopping by one small, silvery blue stream, Sakura took a deep drink of the bitingly cold water - so sharp it felt like it cut her mouth - and swallowed two soldier pills. Her hands wobbled when she dipped them in the stream to try and wash away some of the blood.

"Out... Come out," she hissed under her breath, rubbing around her fingernails vigorously.

Without some soap and a nailbrush, there wasn't much she could do. The dark, rusty brownish red surrounded the chipped pea-green of her short nails like an ugly frame. Unwillingly, Sakura thought about her time limit. When Naruto and Kakashi got back to Konoha they would surely ask Tsunade about her 'mission', and her lie would be discovered. She wondered what they would think - Naruto would be devastated, Kakashi - furious. They might even think she was defecting.

Shutting her eyes against that thought, Sakura groped around her nervous system, digestive system, and circulatory system to check that the soldier pills weren't shocking her poison-wracked body too badly. She straightened - feeling the fresh burst of energy jolting through her body - before launching herself in the direction of the line again.

The only thing that was really keeping her going was the thought of finally finding Sasuke.

Night came and fell, and the line remained at the same brightness as it had been for hours. She could only assume that Uchiha Itachi had finally stopped moving. Torn between pushing herself to catch up entirely, and stopping so she could be better prepared for whatever Uchiha Itachi would have to throw at her, she reluctantly stopped at a tiny inn at the entrance of a valley.

The room she rented was the only unoccupied one in the entire place - consisting of two rooms; a bedroom and a cubby hole of a bathroom. She didn't bother with the light. Just threw off most of her clothes, her sandals, and placed the pouch holding the precious heart onto the grubby table in the corner. It was only when she flopped onto the futon by the window in just her shorts and chest bindings that Sakura realised she wasn't alone.

Kakashi stood by the door of the bathroom, staring down at her with one eye so dark it blended into the shadows of the room. His arms were tightly folded. He didn't do anything until she snapped her arm up to cover her chest defensively and crawled back slightly.

"Kakashi-sensei, I can explain!"

She lay stock still - guilt and something that tasted bitter like fear pinned her in place. She heard him inhale sharply through his nose.

"Yuura's blood and soldier pills," he muttered, voice flatter and colder, more clinical, than she ever remembered.

His sense of smell had never failed to startle her.

"I was tracking - not running away," she half-whispered - needing to justify herself to him.

If one could leave their team so easily... Sakura felt the need to prove that she wouldn't be another. Not anymore. That offer had been retracted long ago - when Sasuke left her knocked out and alone on a cold stone bench.

"Tracking after I specifically forbade you," the tonelessness of his voice made her shiver.

"You told me to forget about it... Not that I could," she replied, refusing to let go of the hope the idea brought.

Kakashi unfolded his arms to run one hand restlessly through the thick, messy strands of his hair. Now that he looked away, she wanted desperately for him to face her. She wanted some kind of approval, of anger, of something.

"I thought that would be implicit, Sakura," He suddenly sounded so tired, "you were always my brightest student - cute and unproblematic. Now you decide that it's a good idea to go running off alone after _Uchiha Itachi_."

She felt her stomach quiver in a way that had nothing to do with Sasori's sword wound.

"It's too good an opportunity to go to waste," she said, finally - defiant.

"Then why didn't you tell Naruto and I?" The shadows threw strange angles on his face, making it even more unreadable.

She found herself wishing she had turned on the lights when she entered the room - that would have, quite literally, lightened the atmosphere. Or, at least remove some of the simmering tension between them. Although, perhaps Sakura didn't want to see the full extent of his expression.

"Itachi is too dangerous for Naruto... He might take him away."

"And me, Sakura?"

When she didn't answer immediately he answered his own question," Because you always feel you have to bear the weight of anything to do with Sasuke on your own."

That stung, but she couldn't dispute it. Huffing slightly, she closed her stinging eyes and tried not to let his words get to her.

"Why didn't you pull me over earlier to lecture me?" Sakura's words came out furious and stinging, despite her intent.

Kakashi always had a way of making her feel like an ignorant, idiotic, childish Academy student, "I got to the border of the Fire country before I could work out where you had gone and ditch Naruto. I only just caught up."

Flopping back onto the futon, she felt her short burst of anger and energy drain away like water down a sink. Hearing him sit down heaving at the base of the futon she crawled up and over to his side to rest her head against his shoulder like a child, despite how he stiffened. They had all forgotten, she thought, what it was like to be a team. What it was like to be Team Seven. He didn't move to touch her, or throw her off, and sat as still as a statue.

"Don't be angry at me - I just want him back. I just want us to be like we were, before," she pleaded, feeling semi-delirious - the soldier pills were wearing off now.

Her body sagged against his and she rested her entire weight on him. The will to return to her futon gone in the wake of the warmth that radiated from him, and the deep sense of comfort that soaked into her very bones. Sakura would never admit to how shaken she still felt in the aftermath of the fight with Sasori and the death of Chiyo, and the wild, hope-filled chase across the country for someone as untouchable and elusive as the moon.

"It's alright," Kakashi said - so quietly she almost thought she had imagined it. His shoulder shifted until his arm wrapped tightly around her. She slept like that. Unaware even when Kakashi dragged the cover of the futon over them both.

...

When she woke up a few hours later she was lying on the futon with the covers tucked up just beneath her chin. Kakashi sat at one of the two seats eating a rather delicious smelling breakfast with another plate opposite it - obviously for her. The sun hadn't even risen yet, so she had no idea how he had managed to get it. She didn't care; it was like a peace offering.

Dragging herself up, Sakura had the presence of mind to pull on her top - which had been piled messily beside her with the rest of her clothes - before rushing over to the table to start demolishing the breakfast. The table was so small their knees touched no matter how Sakura angled her legs. Kakashi didn't even seem to notice. She almost choked on the scrambled eggs when she noticed the lumpy object left on the table between them

The heart lay sagging and oozing slightly on the table between them - the elephant in the room that Sakura studiously ignored.

Kakashi managed to finish the rest of his meal whenever she wasn't looking. The mask was always firmly in place whenever she looked up, and he drank the glass of water at his elbow with it on despite the obvious hygiene issue.

"So, this was how you were tracking?" He prodded the lump of flesh on the table.

"Yes. Using the chakra Itachi left in... it as a guide."

"Clever."

Sakura tried not to let on how that single comment made her swell with pride - she had never quite gotten used to getting praise, or even full on attention from Kakashi. She concentrated on shovelling in the rest of her food and trying to look dignified while she did so. A companionable silence stretched between the two of them, before Kakashi spoke again.

"If we're going to catch up, we'll have to leave soon."

Sakura stared up at him - green eyes bright and wide. A small piece of scrambled egg stuck, quivering, on her lower lip before she swiped her tongue across it. Her mouth felt suddenly dry, and a lump formed in her throat within an instant. For a moment, she struggled for something to say - an unusual occurrence.

"You're okay with it?" She felt oddly elated.

"Not okay," he stated, mindful of the way her face fell, "but willing to try. It's a good opportunity."

Sakura was too happy to dig into the way Kakashi had paused - she didn't want to think about his motives. Scooping up her fleshy guide, she stored it carefully in her newly strapped on pouch - relieved that the golden line was still faintly visible. She felt that Sasuke was closer than he had felt in a long time. Smiling genuinely at Kakashi, she looked up at the clouds as they stepped outside of the Inn.

Somewhere out there, Sasuke was under the very same sky.

...

Around noon the line began to falter and became thinner from then on.

Several times she was sure that it would dissolve completely and only pushing herself to the absolute limits of her speed allowed her to keep up. Kakashi kept up effortlessly. Having to close her eyes often had its obvious disadvantages too; nearly running into trees was one, feeling vulnerable another. More than once, Sakura felt that they were being followed. Kakashi did not speak for hours on end.

Night fell before the line began to strengthen again, much to her relief. The cool air helped to dry the sweat that covered her from the exertion of the run. A little town appeared on the horizon - piled untidily on a steep hill, lights glowing merrily. She knew Uchiha Itachi was there and that thought managed to force out an extra burst of speed. Sakura knew she would be in no state to fight when she arrived, but that wasn't part of the plan.

Hope had lodged itself in her mind, and she would not turn back now.

Kakashi signalled for them to stop just before they got to the road. She looked at him quizzically - irritated by the fact that he didn't seem to be tired in the slightest.

"What exactly are you planning, Sakura?"

She swallowed heavily, and looked away from him. This was the part she hadn't been looking forward to explaining.

"I actually got the idea from you, Kakashi-sensei. I'm going to," she paused, feeling the weight of his gaze,"offer to heal Itachi's eyes."

Kakashi's single visible eye was as cold and flat as stone. His expression didn't change in the slightest.

"You are aware that could be considered treason."

Sakura's heart thudded against her ribcage like a fluttering bird trying to escape from a cage. Oh, she knew alright. Finding it hard to speak, she nodded instead. Kakashi closed his eye - a deep frown visible on his face. She wasn't entirely sure why he had humoured her up to now. The silence was so taunt between them that she felt the need to reach over and touch him lightly on the arm - the way his muscles jumped beneath her fingers told her how little he was now used to impromptu contact. The remnants of their team struggled like badly set bones.

"Is he really worth this, Sakura? You know Sasuke will be furious if he ever finds out." She could tell by his tone that he was trying to make her give up.

Unsure of what to say to him, and too highly strung to argue, Sakura let go of his arm and began to walk away towards the small town.

"I'll be watching," Kakashi added, just before she got so far away that the shadows of the trees swallowed him entirely.

Sakura wasn't entirely sure whether that was a comfort or a threat.

...

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Well, this was originally done as a request for **Aria Illusine, **but then it kind of grew and sprouted weird other sections and I ended up editing the whole damn thing and adding another chapter or so. I hope you all like the new (and, hopefully, improved) version. Oh, and I changed the name... Because I can.

Thanks for reading,

Silver ~ x

**Edited: 22/11/2012**


	2. Beat 2

**Pulse**

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_Beat Two_

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Music pulsed through the air as she drew up to the quaint cobbled road and looked up to see streamers hanging from between the tall, stone houses. Once they might have been bright, but time had dulled them. The smell of sweat, sweet syrup and something spicy enveloped her for a moment as her shoulders slumped and she drew on her quickly emptying reserves of courage and love. A sight that caught her roving eyes made her spine stiffed and her head snap up.

Those eyes - scarlet as fresh arterial blood, or the cherry tomatoes Sasuke loved so much - were utterly unmistakeable.

_Sharingan_.

The word tasted heady on her lips; like the first intoxicating sip of strong alcohol filling her mouth, burning down her throat. Closing her eyes against a sudden rush of fear, Sakura reached into her pouch and touched the moist, rotting flesh carried there.

The shining line that glared behind her eyelids was so bright it was like looking directly at the sun. She felt a little dizzy when she realised that; _yes_, she was a stone's throw away from Uchiha Itachi, and _yes_, this might be the only chance to find Sasuke she would ever truly get again, and, _yes_, _yes, yes_, Itachi might just decide to kill her now that he had seen her. Although, he had probably known she was coming for quite some time.

Upon opening her eyes, she found him standing much closer. Watching. Waiting. Some instinct - as razor sharp, ancient, integral, and instinctive as breathing - told her to smile; she did so as warmly as possible. He blinked. A single stunted movement that told her he hadn't expected such a greeting.

Up close his face was pale and blank - all angles and hard lines with the two deepest running parallel on either side of his face. He was unmistakeably handsome in the cold way Sasuke was, but Itachi showed the signs of stress and hard-living that Sasuke didn't. Or, at least, hadn't the last time she saw him. She shut down that train of thought just as it started and smoothed her shaking hand down her skirt, the fabric beneath her fingers felt strangely rough and unfamiliar.

He pointed at her and crooked his finger slightly in a "come here" gesture. She knew there were hundreds of people around them; flowing between them like water, but all she saw was him. He turned around sharply and walked down a dark alley that Sakura hadn't noticed before. It was like a void of colour, of life. Her feet moved to follow. In the comparative darkness, his eyes glittered like precious stones. Just as hard and unfeeling.

"I want to make a deal with you, Uchiha Itachi."

He shifted to face her fully. There was an ease in the sinuous way he moved; slow and sure, like the stirring of a snake preparing to strike. It was odder still when juxtaposed with the loud, vibrant music that pounded all around them. Strangely muted now though. She blamed the alley; with it's towering, surrounding brick walls. Something about the atmosphere was off, even the slightest rustle of Itachi's cloak seemed amplified.

Sakura didn't know what to do with her hands. She wondered if Kakashi was watching, white knuckled, and ready to step in at any moment, or if he had left her to flounder in the mess she had made herself and didn't yet regret. She wondered why Uchiha Itachi hadn't done anything yet. By this point she half expected to be little more than a smear on the cobbles at her feet. Her mind chose that moment to remind her that Akatsuki always travelled in pairs.

"You are aware," he paused, "_Sakura-san_, that this is entirely the wrong place to be discussing business. Especially that which involves treason."

"This is as good a place as any," Forced itself from her throat before she could stop it. Alien and distant sounding.

"Look around you, can't you feel them? Hm. For one who could track me so effectively I would think you could."

It was at that moment she saw a parallel between the two brothers - both could exhibit the most blasé cruelty in just a few words. Swallowing her pride, Sakura asked him what he meant and waited patiently for the answer.

"Konoha ANBU."

It felt as though her blood had turned to ice in her veins and her heart had turned to a frozen, cracking lump... that was why Kakashi had looked almost smug when he had discussed this. _He knew. _The perceived betrayal behind that tasted bitter in her mouth and removed any logic that might have found other, softer, feelings. This had gone too far to turn back now.

_"Where?"_ she half-whispered.

"Not quite at our heels, but not far off it." His voice almost echoed in her head.

The use of "our" jarred her a little, but she collected herself quickly. This was the time to tell him - ANBU and Kakashi be damned. She was already standing at the edge of the abyss, what was one more step.

"You know who I am. I want you to help me find Sasuke. In return I will -"

Itachi dead-panned, "Let us discuss this elsewhere_."_

He lifted one hand slowly, as though not to startle her. Sakura was ashamed of the way she flinched. There was a difference between facing someone in open ground surrounded by teammates, and this. He stepped closer and she found herself focused on the exposed skin of the underside of his wrist as he moved to grasp her hand - feeling strangely faint. The light blue tracing of veins beneath the alabaster skin reminded her that he really was a living, breathing person just like her, and not an idol of evil or an abstract object of revenge.

She watched him do this as though it was not happening to her. The music around them grew even more faint. Some part of her mind knew what was happening, but could do nothing to stop it. His eyes were pinpoints of light in the darkness, like fireflies floating in the muggy air.

In a way so gentle it made her instantly think he was going to hurt her, Itachi turned her hand up so that her palm faced the starless sky. He was staring, still and brittle, at the blood that was smeared across her hand. Some of it was dried in rusty, flaking streaks, but other sections were vivid and damp. With one slender finger Itachi lightly touched the centre of her palm, staining his finger with red.

A sense of dulled alarm began to pulse in her mind in time with her heartbeat. If ANBU were just coming, why was he remaining here?

Itachi raised that hand to eye level, pursed his thin lips slightly and stared at it as though it was a deeply challenging puzzle. There was another tense moment of silence as he rubbed his forefinger and thumb together until the blood had smeared over them both and dried almost to the colour of the incongruously gaudy ring on his hand. Sakura remained absolutely frozen as he did this, but not with fear. She hadn't done that since she was twelve years old.

"Ah," he said, finally, "I see what you did. Foolish of me to leave that there."

The callous way he referred to the person he had used, and then allowed to die, as _that_ made a prickle of anger run down her spine. Nothing like the waves of hot, close fury that usually emanated in waves through her body. When Sakura felt anger, she really felt it. There was no lukewarm irritation, or middle ground. When she looked down at the ground, with its sweet, cobbled path it looked just like a blur of greys and blacks. As though the two of them were the only clear, unfoggy things in the entire world.

Genjutsu.

Sakura hadn't realised she had spoken the world aloud until Itachi smiled the smallest, bitterest smile she had ever seen just before blackness swamped her vision in a tidal wave.

...

When she woke up it was still dark, the air still smelled sweet-ish and carried the sounds of the festival with it just barely. She couldn't have been out long. Sakura's eyes flickered quickly around her surroundings - a bare, but seemingly clean wooden lodge - before focusing on the figure of Uchiha Itachi without his cloak on. He looked compact, lithe and lazy as a cat dozing in the sun, head propped up on one hand.

Surrounded by close, heavy darkness, fear rolled in and over-spilled the crisp, fearless logic she always tried to keep intact. Normal eyes wouldn't have been able to see the way her skin went so pale that the smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose stood out like splatters of black paint on a white wall. With his faintly glowing, banked coal Sharingan eyes, Itachi would be able to see this as clear as day.

"When did you start the genjutsu?"The words came out barely a whisper and slightly cracked, but Sharingan could read lips.

"When I pointed at you in the crowd. I felt it would be better to move somewhere less," he paused,"open." Not a word wasted.

"The ANBU?" She didn't mention Kakashi.

Itachi's eyes lowered to a heavy, half-mask as he seemed to think about answering. His expression did not change, but his fingers twitched against the arm of the chair slightly. She wondered why he was humouring her. Sakura felt a sickening jolt as she stared at his thin lips and saw that they were almost the same as Sasuke's, and moved with the same mannerisms.

"Are being taken care of by my partner, Kisame." She had no illusions as to what being 'taken care of' meant.

There was another long pause. She had been so ready to make her offer, but now the words dried up like a puddle of water on a hot day. His presence proved more distracting than she could have imagined.

"You are aware that this stunt of yours is most irritating. Especially given recent events." He said, finally. Sakura was transfixed by the way his fingers moved slowly over the arm of his chair. He could kill her so easily...

Still, she considered his words. The extraction of a jinchūriki would probably take a considerable amount of chakra... combine that with the strange jutsu that he had used to fight them with Yuura's body and even an S-class nin had to be feeling it. The weight of his gaze made her jump to the chase.

"Sasuke, where is he?"

"Why should I divulge such information?" a pause in which neither spoke before he said, "I was responsible the destruction of all your Sasuke held dear... and, one day, I will take Naruto-kun too. Yet, you still remain here," he murmured in a low voice like she imagined a lover would.

There was something in the low baritone of his voice that she found calming. Like a venus fly-trap emitting a sweet scent to lure insects. The vague husky note to it made her more uncomfortable that it did relaxed... It made her, she felt her heart pound a little faster despite her attempts to control it, take notice of just how alone they were. Just how much she was at the mercy of this man.

And, really, he was a _man_. That she was more aware than ever in that instant.

"I was instrumental in the death of your comrade," she snapped back, feeling her temper rising to smother the dark, cloying fear.

His fingers drummed against the arm of the chair at that as he let out a short, sharp, exhalation that might almost have been a laugh. The taps of his fingers against the worn wood were like a little warning - a soft reprimand as though she was a naughty child saying things she shouldn't.

"But we are ninja, that is what we do," he muttered, eyes flashing in the darkness like the sweeping illumination of a lighthouse," are you expecting..." Itachi rolled his tongue around the syllables as though he was savouring them, "anger... retribution."

Sakura felt as though she had wandered into a trap and felt it snap closed on her. He seemed amused by her. _Amused. _That sick bastard. He wasn't taking this seriously at all. She still had Sasori's heart beneath her fingernails and he petted her like a kitten. When she didn't answer all the humour drained from his face leaving her wondering how she had even managed to detect it at all - the changes in his expression were so small.

"I don't care what it takes; I don't care if he hates me. I'll do anything to find him and bring him back," Sakura said, meeting his eyes steadily and ignoring her dry mouth and quivering fingers.

Itachi stood in a single fluid movement that made her jerk back and reach for a kunai instinctively (though she found that, predictably, he had taken them all). He paused for a moment as though to indicate without words that he did not intend to attack, before walking over to a table entrenched in shadow on one side of the small room. She hadn't noticed it before - so focused on the presence of a _predator._

He stood behind one of the chairs and pulled it out - the audible sound of wood scraping against wood made her shudder as the sound rolled across her skin like many tiny, scratching fingernails. For a second, Sakura didn't realise why he was standing motionless behind the chair and watching her with calm, near unblinking eyes that were reminiscent of tiny red suns.

Scrambling to her feet, she walked over in as cool a manner as she could manage and sat in the chair he had so courteously held out for her. The situation had crossed the border into surreal long ago.

"You have not eaten in some time. Your chakra is fluctuating," he stated, as he walked through a small open door into what she could only assume was the kitchen.

Of course he knew that. He knew everything. She frowned and was ready to argue against him, but a look silenced her. She knew how much she was depending on his mood being favourable.

When Itachi returned, food in hand, Sakura was mildly surprised.

"Dango?" The sceptical statement escaped her before she could stop it.

"Do you not like it?" came the bland reply.

"No... No, it's fine."

He handed her the sweet dumplings carefully, his fingers lightly brushing against hers as the treat switched hand. For some reason, she felt ridiculous eating in front of him; especially due to the fact that he seemed able to stare at her and not feel an ounce of shame. She felt like spitting; copying my eating technique? - at him, but he would surely skewer her with the dango sticks.

The way he ate - neatly but with flashes of his teeth and tongue - made her stomach coil in a way that was entirely unsettling and not entirely unpleasant. She had quickly had enough of the silence that lay between them.

Her fingers crept to the pouch on her thigh when she thought he wouldn't notice, hidden as her hand was by the table. The tell-tale lightness already indicated that it was gone, but Sakura wanted to check, to feel. The only thing inside the pouch was a mulchy mess of congealed blood and a few loose threads.

"I destroyed it. Any such link to myself was not something I could allow to remain." He was, apparently, omniscient.

The way this situation mirrored the one with Kakashi not so long ago made her head spin. Only with Itachi she wasn't so afraid to address the elephant in the room.

"Well, this is _cosy,_" she heard herself say, tone biting.

Something like a smile crept across his face, but in the darkness it was hard to tell," I wondered when you would become impatient."

The way he was toying with her didn't mesh with the ruthless efficiency she had been taught to expect. Getting right to the point never hurt, so Sakura went straight for it again.

"I can heal your eyes for you."

"Do you think me so naive? - to allow an enemy to heal me."

She felt her heart stutter in her chest as she watched him. To come so far just to be struck down. Perhaps this was just some kind of entertainment for him - the chase; making her lower her guard, give her hope and then finish her. Sakura wasn't ready to back down now. She reached for the arm slung casually by his side - moving her hand with exaggerated slowness so that he did not feel she was attacking. She did not lower her eyes from his; she had nothing to hide.

Clasping his loose hand in both of hers she drew it up until his palm lay flat against her collarbone, just before the swell of her profoundly unimpressive chest. The slightest crease between his eyebrows drew her attention before it smoothed as his expression became flat again.

"Anything you want."

Itachi's fingers curled against her skin as she heard him inhale audibly - if it hadn't been so quiet in the room she wouldn't have noticed.

There was a moment of stillness before Itachi surged forward like a force of nature. His hands dove into her petal-coloured hair as he half dragged her across the table towards him. Thoughts of the act did not prepare her for the real, living breathing thing. He was pinned her in place with his Sharingan, she couldn't move - that almost helped.

Her head was tilted - offering her neck in an age-old symbol of deference. She stared at the dark, wooden ceiling and tried so hard to think of Sasuke; his pale, corded muscles, and his complete and utter coldness. Itachi paused with his lips hovering just above hers; she didn't think that he would kiss her during the act.

An electric current swept across her parted lips that was like a ghostly anticipation of touch. The feeling of his hot, harsh breath washing across her skin, and his cold fingers holding her in place intensified the discomfort she felt in that awkward position. At the last moment, he bypassed her lips and settled his forehead against her bared throat. Sakura stared at the roof above her steadily, felt the weight of him against her and the fleeting feeling of his hard teeth against her skin - it took a second to dismiss the animal fear that he might rip her throat out with his teeth.

"I wondered if you would... So brazen, _so foolish as to try this with me_," Itachi spoke against the soft, vulnerable skin of her neck - the harshness of his words juxtaposed sharply with the softness of his breath ghosting across her skin.

He stilled against her, a fine tremor that might have been stifled laughter running through his body before he straightened back to the perfect, regal, posture she had already become familiar with. His face was a blank slate once more, but his eyes positively burned. He pushed her back from his body and held her back by her forearms - the table still between them. He made her feel filthy in a single gesture. She still couldn't move.

"And you would have done it," Itachi said, quietly.

The tilt of his lips took on a distinctly self-derisive look. Sakura felt her stomach heave - the dango almost too much for the sensitive organ. The scar from Sasori's sword itched and burned with an intensity that was both distracting and frightening.

"I keep my word," Sakura said, levelly.

"Though you realise I cannot let you go alive now, my partner knows you are here."

It felt as though she was choking. Maybe someone actually had been following them, and maybe that someone had been Hoshigaki Kisame. The only reason they had let her live was probably Naruto. She was the perfect bait. She was a fool, but she still didn't regret it - she would push for what she had come for. This man was not at all like he had been portrayed to her.

"Why didn't you just kill me to start with?"

He tilted his head minutely before answering, "Curiosity. The fact that I could use you as a decoy for the ANBU. Your connection to the Kyuubi... You must realise that you are _useful_."

Sasuke would never have said such a thing. Sakura was surprised by that comment and one other glaring thing about him; his openness to touch. She had not expected that. Sasuke was so untouchable - so distant - like a star. She could count on one hand the number of times that she had any significant contact with him. He flinched away from everyone - treated her as though her touch was unwanted and borderline repulsive. Sasuke...

_This was not Sasuke._

The way Uchiha Itachi sought touch was almost hungry.

His hands were still firmly placed on her forearms. She wondered if this was a need borne out of a lack of human contact in general. A frown creased her brow as she thought of the way it paralled her own desire for human touch - but, hers was caused by the death of her parents, and the root of his was probably the same. The causes of those deaths, however, were worlds away from each other. The fact that she had to remind herself of his atrocity was disheartening.

She placed her small hand over one of his in a way that couldn't be interpreted as violent from any mindset - ready to try and push him for what she had come for one last time, death threats be damned.

Itachi's thin lips parted, but his words were no longer directed at her,"Kakashi-san, to what do we owe the pleasure?"

...

...

* * *

Well, that's chapter two done! Not much to say other than I hope you enjoyed it.

Silver ~


	3. Beat 3

**Pulse**

* * *

...

...

_Beat Three_

...

...

"_Sakura_..."

She knew he was telling her without words to move so that he could engage in battle. He wanted her out of the way so that she wouldn't be in his line of fire.

Itachi's fingers flexed against her flesh - not quite enough to hurt, but if he maintained that level of pressure she would almost certainly bruise.

"If you help him, or fight me, the deal is off," Itachi said, without looking at her.

Her mouth opened and closed with a sharp 'clack' of teeth - like two shards of porcelain scraping together. Deliberately, he let go of her arms. That couldn't be seen as anything other than a challenge, a test of her resolve. Sakura stood, finally able to move - feeling as though she had left her stomach where she had been sitting. Itachi turned his attention to Kakashi, who was staring at the grain of the wood on the floor with both eyes bare to the world.

"Where are the ANBU?" Itachi spoke in a tone someone would use at a formal dinner party.

"Your partner is keeping them occupied," Kakashi said, grudgingly.

"You could have waited for them, Kakashi-san," Itachi almost sounded chiding.

Kakashi looked at her pointedly before flicking his eyes back to the floor in front of Itachi's feet. The _chirp chirp_ of Chidori filled up the room - deafening in the small space. Splinters shattered from the wall nearest him. Paint peeled back on itself. The windows cracked like ice beneath a heavy boot.

In the same instant, Itachi grabbed her wrist and feigned dragging her in front of him. Her lightning fast mind, almost too quick to keep up with itself and infinitely quicker than her body registered what was happening and she was appalled. Kakashi hesitated for a split second, and - really - that was all it took. He looked up in her direction and was caught in the trap of Itachi's eyes. And it was all her fault.

The Chidori died in a spider web burst of sparks that bloomed and shrunk in what seemed like the same second. She watched Kakashi's large, gloved hand flop to his side rather than look at his panic-stricken expression - frozen like a photograph. Her eyes flickered inextricably, guiltily, up to his features anyway. Tiny bloody fingernail marks formed in her palms - red crescent moons.

Out of sheer morbid curiosity her eyes found Itachi's. He too was still as a statue beside her and her thoughts boomed with white-hot anger and slick black vengeance. She wondered if he was able to move while he was casting this genjustu - if he could get out the way before she drove her fist into his ribcage, making it collapse like a house of cards. That brief second that might have been the perfect opportunity passed, and suddenly he was blinking sluggishly once, then sharply again.

Itachi turned to look at her smoothly just as Kakashi collapsed jerkily, unwillingly, to the floor - a puppet with the strings cut. Inside the scarlet of Itachi's eyes were twin black pinwheels - her mind jerked between images of carnival and carnage. Then they faded to the darkest blue she had ever seen.

"Let us depart, Sakura-san."

Near her foot, Kakashi groaned slightly, eyes flickered sightlessly behind the closed lids. He wasn't close to dying - she could feel that. But, he was her teammate, her _sensei_, and he was hurt. She wanted to run her fingers along his hairline and hold his hand while they waited for the ANBU and numb the pain as much as she could.

"Alright," she took a step back from his crumpled body - bent in a way that was probably hurting him more," can I put him in the recovery position?"

Fuck it. She had to do something. He seemed to consider that; dragging his startlingly inky eyes across her as though to seek out signs of deceit. Finally, he seemed satisfied - giving a curt nod and releasing her wrist. Sakura wondered if he could ever be rushed. She bent to her knees beside Kakashi and couldn't resist lightly touching his neck through the fabric of his mask.

The familiar, earthy smell of him made her eyes prick with hot, barely formed tears that made her normally expressive eyes glitter even more even in the gloom. The stifled sigh he let out when she touched him gently was almost her undoing. She methodically arranged his limbs until he was lying in the defined position. His breathing eased so minutely that only a trained professional could have noticed. It took all of her willpower to rip her hands from him and stand stiffly up.

Itachi held the worn, creaking door to the dark, velvety blackness of the outdoors open for her like a true gentleman. Like someone who hadn't just invaded her sensei's mind and ripped it to shreds. The cheerful, jazzy music that floating to them on the breeze - heavily amplified the moment the door opened - juxtaposed ridiculously with the scene inside the cabin. It almost seemed that Kakashi's body was jerking along with the beat - still trying to throw off the mental agony and fight.

It was the kind of tune her mother had listened to on bright summer days, washing the dishes, swaying along with the tempo. Kakashi was twitching rather than swaying. Cold sweat trickled down her spine as she forced herself to block out the music and walk over to where Itachi was standing. The music drowned out her thoughts. Kakashi spasmed in her mind behind her closed eyelids.

In the darkness she it looked like he was smirking, but that seemed like a trick of the light. He spoke, low, and cool, "After you."

Sakura wondered if Sasuke had felt even a tenth of this when he betrayed them all.

...

The moment she stepped out into the dark night, Sakura flinched. Hyped up as she was, she managed to remain still when one of the two Itachis now standing in the clearing by the shack advanced on her slowly. Placing a hand on her shoulder firmly, maybe to keep her in place, he spoke,"Mold your chakra please, Sakura-san."

She did so without of word of questioning - sure that if she spoke she would either burst into angry tears or try to claw out those damned eyes of his with her bare hands - and watched in morbid fascination as the Itachi closest to her began to glow with the same, soft silver shine of the moon for a few moments before it faded as quickly as it happened. Her finely tuned senses told her that this Itachi - which she guessed was the bushin - now held the _exact same chakra signature _that she held. Something she had previously believed to be an impossibility.

She felt Kakashi's chakra signature moving again and her heart leapt into her throat as though to asphyxiate her. Whipping her head around, she stared at the door of the small, ramshackle building with more than trepidation.

Another two Itachi bushins stepped out into the faint moonlight. One had Kakashi's chakra signature. Wondering how Itachi had forced that out of him with Kakashi completely and utterly not in a state to mould chakra made her heart constrict painfully. If this continued the guilt would surely drive her mad.

Turning her eyes to the other one, the real one, she watched him watch her - she had felt his eyes on her, probably waiting for her to snap. He released her shoulder and something in his manner told her that he was hesitating. Without a word, the bushin darted off into the darkness - it moved so fast that all she could see were the blurred streaks of red of the Akatsuki clouds in motion, like smears of blood spread across the scenery. The other two followed shortly afterwards.

For some reason being alone with Itachi rather than being surrounded by his clones made her even more nervous.

"We must make I blood contract," he said,"those bushin should buy us time to do so."

The thought of touching his blood made her stomach turn. Anger still boiled white hot and simmering in her stomach mixed with the acidic, chest-compressing burn of guilt. It was too late - far too late - to turn back now so she simply nodded. He reached for her and she saw and smelled the blood on his palm leaking from several deep slices that carved a symbol she did not recognise. She hadn't even seen him move, much less draw a weapon.

Sakura held out her hand, fingers pressed tightly together to stop them from shaking, and watched in a detached manner as Itachi drew that same symbol on her hand in his own blood. The light brush of his finger against her palm made her want to squirm away. Despite Itachi being of a slender build, being so close to him was intimidating even when he wasn't looking directly in her eyes.

"I need to make a few cuts."

She had expected that, he knew she had expected that, but really what he meant was that he was about to draw a weapon. It was for her benefit. She loathed this thoughtfulness, this humanity that she had never expected.

His blade was so sharp that she barely felt the cuts he made for seconds afterwards, then blood that looked almost black in the poor lighting began to pool at the edges of the small wounds before trickling down her arm in coiling patterns. This time it was her blood he used to write a symbol on his other palm. Reaching out, he entwined his fingers with hers: making a mockery of the sweet, trusting gesture.

"We must now decide what exactly we are agreeing on. My terms are twofold; my eyes must be healed to the best of your ability, and you must never speak anything of our deal or anything you learned about the Akatsuki, or myself to anyone unless I allow it," he paused then," And you, Sakura-san, what are your terms?"

"You will help me find Sasuke return him to Konoha, _alive_."

She held his dark gaze steadily. It was easier without the Sharingan.

"You do not even ask that I leave you unharmed, or _living_, by the end of this deal," he said, quietly, accepting.

They did not mention Naruto, or Konoha. She knew he would never agree to such a thing, and even thinking of them right now would be enough to make her rip her hands away from him, take Kakashi and run. Naruto's voice murmuring; _You have nothing to be sorry for, _repeated over and over in her mind.

Licking her lips, a movement that he watched closely, she smiled widely - bitterly - at him, "I am confident that I will be able to heal your eyes, but through constant use they will deteriorate again... and eventually you will need my help. And, after all, what use is a dead medic?"

His fingers tightened a little around her own before relaxing, "Do not resist my chakra."

He may as well have told her not to breathe.

"I'm ready," she said.

His chakra began to push and probe at her - originating from her hands, but spreading up her forearms within an instant. It was like they were being submerged in ice cold water. Her hair stood on end like a line of tiny toy soldiers. Instead of just being able to hear her own heartbeat, Itachi's now rang in her ears almost in synchronisation with her own. Some medical part of her noted that it sounded strangely strained, but the rest of her mind was focused on not rejecting the chakra that was surging into her system.

When it reached her neck and swelled to cover her ears, eyes and nose he began to speak - it sounded as though she was underwater. The sounds were muffled, distorted and all she could really hear was their heartbeats. Her entire body burned with the desire to throw off the foreign intruder. Suddenly, she knew it was her turn to speak.

"I promise." The chakra inside her swelled, tingling icy hot and then cold as though she was in the depths of a raging fever. "Do you promise to find Sasuke and return him unharmed to Konoha_?"_

"I promise."

Sakura saw his mouth make the shape of the words rather than heard them and at that moment the chakra lying latent in her body erupted at every nerve ending. Black spots crowded her vision and their twin heartbeats thundered in her ears. She tasted blood and the beginnings of bile. His hands tightened around her own as her muscles shook and every inch of her body screamed in protest.

Then, it was over.

Gasping, Sakura tore her hands from his and lost all of her dignity when she was forced almost to her knees - retching up the dango she had just eaten in a warm, stinging surge. At least she managed to avoid her clothes and shoes entirely. Itachi had stepped back out of the way - seemingly unaffected. Putting her hands on her knees she took a few long, shuddering breaths of the fresh air, which stung her abused throat and did not clear the close, hot taste of vomit from her mouth.

A hand touched her chin and tilted her face up until she was looking directly at him. As his eyes flickered across his face she wondered what he was looking for, but whatever it was he seemed satisfied enough because he released her seconds after.

After a few minutes she was strong enough to run. Scanning her body, she felt his chakra lodged somewhere near her heart - supposed it would kill her if she broke the deal. A quick examination of Itachi showed that he had some of her chakra by his too - though it no longer seemed connected to her.

The thought of having a piece of him lodged inside of her was repulsive. Images of Yuura's slumped, torn corpse, and his soft, slippery heart with its near black gushing blood showed flickered in her mind. That, and Kakashi's twitching form, Naruto's warm smile and Sasuke's cool smirk.

Treason tasted as bitter as she had ever imagined it would.

...

They ran until dawn - never speaking.

Itachi's Sharingan did not re-activate, but she thought it best not to provoke his anger by asking.

Sakura looked over her shoulder constantly, but neither ANBU or Kakashi appeared. But, by the same score, neither did Kisame. They finally came to a stop just as light began to break through the darkness and shrink the long fingers of shadows that crawled between the thick trees like insects.

When Itachi finally decided to stop it was at a small, noisy waterpool. The small pool at the base would probably come up to about her neck at the deepest part, and was floored with nothing but pebbles smoothed clean by the actions of the water. In the cold, stark yellow of dawn the clear water looked almost green tinged.

Sakura crossed her arms across her torso, body shivering like a leaf in the breeze before a series of popping noises - startlingly like a bone being pulled out of the socket - made her jerk her head over in Itachi's direction. He didn't comment on how easily she jumped at that slight noise, and began to fold up his cloak and then placed it on the dry rock beside him.

Her mind - thick and hazy like the fine early morning mist that covered the landscape - only just caught up with what was actually happening when he pulled his shirt over his head and placed it on top of his cloak, leaving only his pale, lithe torso clad in a top of fine mesh. All she could do was stare.

"Come - enough of this juvenile behaviour. We have only a short time here, and I refuse to lead you if you are bound to attract unwanted attention with your scent," he said suddenly, bland voice betraying the slightest hint of irritation.

Beneath all of the bone weariness, the grime, and the pain, Sakura still managed to feel absolutely mortified and indignant.

Turning her back to him, and trying to ignore the rustling of clothes behind her followed by soft splashes of water, she pulled the zip down on her top quickly and jerked down her pale pink medic skirt and unstrapped multiple, empty, weapons holders. Sakura couldn't bring herself to remove the bandages around her torso, or her shorts. Even with those layers on she felt vulnerable beyond belief.

She walked quickly into the water until it came to her knees, deliberately keeping to the side furthest from Itachi.

"Don't use anything with a scent," Itachi said, disturbingly close, almost as soon as she flipped the cap on the bottle, "It makes you easier to track."

Sakura looked wistfully at the small bottle of concentrated strawberry scented shampoo and conditioner mix in her hand before she snapped, waspishly, "Then what am I supposed to use?"

She unwillingly met his eyes - red and swollen like bloody full moons, the Sharingan re-awakened - the expression behind them was almost blank, but the menace in them was probably from a mixture of the reputation and the colour. Red was associated innately with danger, poison: as far back as the mind went it was the colour of plants that should not be eaten, of blood, of fire. He calmly touched her hand with his frigidly cold, damp one and pressed a small clear bottle to her palm.

"You may use mine."

He turned away after that to squeeze some of the water out of his long dark hair, and she saw for the first time the ANBU tattoo that still stood brazenly on his skin. She was sure he caught her looking when he turned so that his back was to her so that she couldn't see the swirling tattoo anymore - a reminder of past loyalty that was only skin deep. Sakura wondered why he hadn't removed it. Perhaps he kept it out of spite, or maybe even guilt. Still slightly wary of him changing his mind she deigned not to ask in case he decided that she would be better as a permanent feature of the pool around them.

Sakura noted how he remained close to her at all times. She supposed he didn't trust her - and she didn't blame him - and wanted to keep watch over her constantly should she try anything. She lifted her thick, soaked pink hair off of her neck and began working the scentless shampoo into the strands as quickly and efficiently as possible. Although she did, childishly, use more than necessary.

It was disheartening to look down and see how the bandages around her torso were almost completely see-through, but Itachi had barely glanced at her for hours - even her being semi-clothed and soaked didn't seem to change that. She doubted she had anything to worry -

"What is this?"

Icy cold fingers touched her back lightly, making her jerk her shoulders up and curl her hands into tight fists Those same nimble fingers wiped the stray wet, sticking strands of hair and trickling soap suds away from her neck before he let out a soft breath that sounded as though the wind had been forcibly knocked out of him. For all she knew, it was a soft hiss of laughter. Sakura defensively clamped her hand over the ridiculously tiny kanji for promise that was etched on the skin at the back of her neck.

It had been Ino's idea, of course. Her daring blond friend had wanted a tattoo - and had ended up getting a curling rose around her thigh 'for beauty and love' - and had goaded Sakura into getting one with her. The reason why she chose the one she did was probably obvious.

"It's a tattoo, _prodigy_, you have one too," Sakura muttered, acidly, turning to glare at him over her shoulder. Turning around further would have made her feel even more exposed.

He exhaled sharply, running his long fingers though his hair and beginning to retreat to the edge of the pool, "Not one dedicated to my foolish little outou, I don't."

"H-how did you -" She had been told before that she was stupidly easy to read, but this was just ridiculous.

Itachi paused and she could almost see the condescension rolling from him in waves across the clear, cold water. The paleness of his skin contrasting with the vibrant colour of the reflections of the trees and the sky in the water around him made it seem like all the colour in his skin had been leeched into the surrounding liquid. She squeezed the bubbles from her hair and began to rinse it again.

"Hurry up, we must leave soon."

It was sad that the most rebellious thing she could think of doing was to stick out her tongue at his retreating back.

...

Despite Itachi hurrying her from the waterfall, they settled in a deep, low cave only a mile or two away from that site.

Sakura wondered why he had seemed almost... worried about being in that area, but didn't bother to ask because - like Sasuke - the answers he usually gave were so vague that they almost always made more questions appear. She tried to think of Sasuke often - rubbing the worn friendship bracelet she kept beneath her glove to remind herself. They all had one - she had made them ages ago, before Sasuke left.

Whether or not Sasuke still had his hardly seemed to matter anymore. The point was that he wore it when she first gave it to him. She remembered the flush of fierce, elated joy - like running at full speed - that had swept through her as he let her tie it onto his wrist. The feel of his pulse beneath her fingers was something that had never left her.

They set up a fire between them and sat around to eat in silence - Sakura sitting as far away from Itachi as she could manage while still being close to the fire. She chose to break the silence between them.

"When Sasori died he gave me some information that might be useful. He said that; in ten days I should go to the bridge of Heaven and Earth in the Hidden Grass Village at noon, because that would be where he was due to meet a subordinate who knew of Orochimaru."

"Hn," was her only reply for a moment.

She took a long slurp of the ramen noodles that Naruto had left in her pack and tried to enjoy them rather than let a fresh wave of guilt. The cave he had chosen was relatively clean, dry and very hard to find. She guessed that Itachi had used it before, until he went to the back and dispelled a genjutsu to show a stored set of blankets and a few other supplies confirming that this was probably a regularly used Akatsuki stopping point.

Sakura mentally tried to mark this spot for future reference.

"Information gathering was always going to be our first task... This helps matters greatly," he said, handing her a blanket that she quickly wrapped around herself.

Nodding, she went back to slurping her noodles. Sakura almost felt embarrassed by how noisily and messily she was eating in comparison to his careful, refined methods. His eyes stayed on her the entire time, only closing briefly now and again.

He had claimed first watch and she was just about to lie down and finally sleep when she noticed his posture suddenly stiffening. An instant later she was crushed between the stone wall of the cave and his taunt body, shuddering slightly with a tension that was seen rather than felt. Sakura regretted leaving her safety out of the deal, and wanted to rip his heart out in the same instant.

"Stay still," Itachi hissed, teeth bared.

Pressed against the wall, a rock was digging into her spine and her feet were not quite touching the ground. She could barely even breathe. The thing she concentrated most on, though, was the fact that the chakra that was planted near her heart was pulsing. Whether this was because of his proximity, or his emotions, or even her own she didn't know. After a few seconds of strained silence, Itachi spoke again in a moist whisper just below her ear.

"Hidan is close."

...

...

...

* * *

Third chapter done! As of yet, I'm still not sure how many there will be, but we'll see as we go along, I guess.

Thanks for reading,

Silver ~


	4. Beat 4

**Pulse**

* * *

...

...

_Beat Four_

...

...

Hidan.

Her quick mind jolted into action - pages of the current version of the bingo book - painstakingly memorised - fluttered in her mind before coming to a screeching halt at the page with a smirking, silver haired man with the strangest lavender-red eyes, coloured like exotic flowers from a far off land. She recalled his stats; main weapon triple blade scythe, Akatsuki, formerly of Yugakure, practitioner of the religion Jashin...

The kind of person she really didn't want to meet.

"Cease that," Itachi hissed in her ear, drawing her attention back to him.

And she wondered how she could ever have forgotten. Their proximity made a shuddering mixture of revulsion, and prickly fear fire through her veins like liquid lava. Goosebumps crawled over her skin and she knew he would see them on the exposed skin of her neck that was lightly touching his chin and that thought made her stomach twist painfully. Cease what exactly, she didn't know.

"Your chakra is pushing against mine. It is _spiking_."

The small lump of chakra he had embedded by her heart began to shudder and burn like the most serious case of heartburn she had ever experienced. Shockwaves of pain radiated out from her heart like a thousand tiny stabbing needles - one wave after another. Whether this was at his will, or as a result of his emotions, or something else, she didn't know. Whatever it was, it _hurt_. Sakura's short fingernails scraped trenches in the solid stone wall behind her as she tried to repress even the smallest gasp of pain.

She quickly realised that he was cloaking her chakra with his even more than he had been doing previously, and that she was fighting against it subconsciously. Itachi pulled back from her suddenly, making Sakura stumble after him slightly, back screaming in relief as the sharp rocks were no longer digging into her flesh. She saw his hands - long fingered artists' hands that didn't look made for such an occupation - blur in a sequence of movement just before pressing against her temples.

A strange feeling - like cold water being poured over the top of her head and trickling down her body - flowed over. Sakura pressed her head to her hands, gasping, and opened her eyes to see something other than her slim, athletic figure in her usual uniform.

Instead, she looked down at herself and saw a skinny boy's body - nut brown skin, dirty fingernails and covered in threadbare neutral coloured clothes. Sakura could not see the vivid, lime green - almost yellow - colour her irises had become, or the short, lurid green coloured hair that replaced her own pink locks. Itachi pressed on her lightly on her shoulders, communicating wordlessly that she had to sit down and glancing back at the cave opening - and she quickly sat down by the entrance of the cave, remembering to uncross her legs - men did not sit like that.

She was not sure what he was doing, but for now she would go along with it. Her hands shook slightly so she pressed them to her knees to hide it. Sakura almost felt like she could still feel his lithe, compact body sandwiched against hers - she shut down that line of thought quickly.

The genjutsu that covered the entrance flickered a little just as Itachi lounged into position, before Hidan stepped smoothly through it - parting the illusion as though he was walking beneath a waterfall. Rain dribbled from his soaked hair, skin and cloak the moment he stepped into the cave - leaving tiny puddles in his wake that almost looked black in the dim lighting. Apparently they had been just in time.

He paused at the door - stopping to prop his weapon against the rock wall and flex that hand as he took in the surroundings. Itachi's chakra positively burned - filling the room like a territorial animal - though his expression remained stoic. Hidan either didn't notice or ignored it because he smiled showing pointed teeth.

"So you caught one of the little fuckers, huh, Uchiha?" Hidan grunted, in her direction, "And he's just your _type_."

Sakura didn't know who the hell she was supposed to be, but they seemed to. Some of the tenseness seeped out of her muscles despite herself - she had been ready to fight if he had launched himself at her. Tiredness crawled over her mind - squirming at the edges of her concentration. For what felt like the thousandth time, she thought of Sasuke.

Itachi tightened his lips slightly, but didn't answer. He sat with his legs stretched out in a visibly calm pose - still managing to seem regal and in control even when sitting on the dusty cave floor. He did not stand to greet Hidan as a comrade as she would have done for any Leaf. Hidan, in turn, did not seem in the slightest bit offended by the slight Itachi had given by not even standing to greet him. She had not expected such a show of passive aggressive hostility between them.

"Move the fuck out of my way, boy," Hidan spat, aiming a quick kick at her legs - which were sprawled out near him.

Angry comments bubbled at the edge of her throat and died there. Her fists clenched, and he watched her - expression goading - to see if she would do anything. His eyes - feminine coloured, but no less malicious for it - narrowed.

She went to glare up at him, not even thinking about the action, but when her eyes met his the chakra close to her heart gave an unexpected jolt. Sakura gave a humiliating squeak of pain and scuttled back a little - clutching her chest in what probably looked like fear. Seconds later her cheeks began to burn with humiliation, but she didn't move to do anything. Trying to crush his skull with her bare hands would most likely blow her cover. Unfortunately.

Hidan gave her one last simmering sweep with his gleaming eyes before turning his attention to Itachi. The way he looked at her made it feel as though he was undressing her with his eyes, but considering she looked like a _boy_ at the moment he was probably just sizing her up. The alternative didn't bear thinking about. He smoothed his hands back across his gleaming silver hair and flicked the excess water in her direction.

Sakura felt her pride sting furiously as each tiny droplet of water splattered on her form. She was sure he could feel her murderous glare - it was probably why he was smirking so widely. Itachi shot her another warning look that made it feel as though she had been pinned to the wall with his gaze.

"The boy is a dead end," Itachi said, tone becoming more biting than she had ever heard - glowing eyes still fixed on her," no bloodline limit."

Hidan snorted, cracking his knuckles. Sakura made a show of trying to smooth her furious expression - coming across as a downtrodden captive was not particularly one of her strong points. She looked down at the brown, scabbed skin that was now her knees and tried to calm her still spiking chakra.

"If you're sure of that - give me the bastard," Hidan smiled in a way that didn't extend to his pale, piercing eyes, the exposed muscles of his stomach rippled slightly in what could have been anticipation," Jashin-sama welcomes blood even from fucking useless little swine like that."

"If he's useless," Hidan's eyes watched her closely, calculating," we can use him in the trade with that slimy bastard Orochimaru, right? Fucker wouldn't know till later and we could just say the boy was in fine condition when we handed him over, so you must've fucked with him too much. Or fucked him too much, full stop," he let out a raucous laugh.

Her ears pricked up at that. Itachi had failed to mention any imminent meeting with Orochimaru - she would be sure to bring that up later.

Itachi did not answer that - his near glacial stare being enough of a reply it would seem. Sakura didn't know how often Akatsuki members interacted, so she assumed that maybe Hidan was used to Itachi's aloof manner. Hidan paused to draw a line of limp bandages from inside his cloak and then dangled it between them as though it was some great prize. Itachi's bland, if a little icy, stare shifted to something altogether more predatory.

"Smells like," Hidan pressed the slightly damp, limp bandages up to his nose, closing his eyes," a woman, a girl. All sissy strawberries and pissy sweet perfumes."

Sakura felt a slight jolt of fear - like a shock of electricity lancing through her system. Those bandages were hers; either the ones she wore beneath her headband, or some of the ones that usually secured her now empty kunai pouch. That would explain why Itachi had been so eager to leave that small waterfall. She silently cursed her own thoughtlessness.

He took another deep breath of the cloth, in a way that made her stomach churn and then smiled showing straight white teeth, "Not that you would know much about them, eh?"

Itachi didn't even seem interested in continuing the conversation anymore, or showing any semblance of trying to. His sharp, ruby eyes - reflecting the flickering fire like banked coals - were fixed on Hidan as he stooped to sit on the floor, bandages still being twirled idly in one hand.

"Caught a bunch of those heathen Leafs, you know," he said, boasting - nodding mockingly at Itachi's headband with its line that reminded her sickeningly of scar tissue. Damaged. "But..." he paused, eyes turning to her again - Sakura knew she should hide her white knuckled fists," they had no bitches and the scent on this is pretty fuckin' fresh, right? And the only other chakra signatures in the area are yours and this little prick's." He gestured towards her.

"So where's that bitch gone, Uchiha?" He finished, pressing the bandages to his face again.

Sakura felt her heart rate increase as though she had just popped five solider pills in quick succession. _Caught a bunch of those heathen Leafs?_ What had he done with them then? She closed her eyes and hoped, selfishly - desperately - that none of her team were among the captured. Though she was confident Hidan wouldn't be walking around uninjured if he had encountered any of her team and taken them down. Still, the bitter taste of anger filled her mouth as she thought of any of her comrades in arms falling to him.

"I do not have time to spare to compensate for your mediocre tracking skills," Itachi murmured, expression smoothing again - apparently ignorant of her inner turmoil.

"Ah, but I'm doing you a fucking favour, Itachi-_chan_. I swear to Jashin, you're an ungrateful bastard."

The silver haired nin twirled the bandages around his fingers again before slipping them back into his cloak. A sour what-if slipped into Sakura's mind - smearing thick, greasy fear across her thoughts. What if she had been alone? What if Itachi had decided to let Hidan see her as she was? - because he was under no obligation to keep her intact; she had made sure of that.

Every time a slight breeze slipped into the cave it carried with it the cloying metallic odour of blood, and it made her stomach twist painfully. She wasn't sure if she was imagining the cries of pain that slipped along the edges of her hearing - setting her teeth on edge.

"I have no time for your lengthy rituals. Have you retrieved the information required?" Itachi replied, forehead creasing minutely in a way that suggested she might not be imagining the screams.

He moved to stand gracefully, the fire between them all going out in a single definitive movement that prompted Sakura to drag herself to her feet. In the dim light, she felt even more unease - the chakra by her heart had calmed to the point where it didn't hurt anymore, but she still felt the organ pulsing rapidly. The fact that, as a relatively skilled medic, she couldn't even control her heart rate was worrying.

In the darkness, her senses were amplified sharply. Blood seemed to almost coat the air and the sounds of screams were most definitely not imagined. Anger and fear jostled together in a way that made her feel almost seasick.

"Morally you flounder in wet shit. Of course you don't fucking understand, "Hidan sneered, what little she could see of his handsome face twisting in a mixture of revulsion and vicious glee, "No, not yet. Got one left just ready to have it ripped out of him though."

They began to move towards the entrance. Sakura deliberately hung back, but she saw Itachi's cat-like eyes zone in on her and knew she wouldn't escape his attention. She straightened her spine and met his eyes.

"Do it then," Itachi said to Hidan, eyes still on her. Tone mocking.

"I couldn't resist the lure of an audience," Hidan followed his gaze to look over at her again, pausing at the door, "Ever seen someone die, you little cocksucker?"

"Yes," her voice came out a husky whisper - choked with anger. It was probably deep enough to pass for a young man.

Hidan waited at the entrance for her to pass by - following Itachi like an obedient little captive. He leaned close enough for her to smell his breath and feel the body heat radiating off of him. She refused to flinch even for the sake of maintaining the cover that had been thrust upon her.

He paused for a moment before dragging out the syllable as though savouring it, "Shame."

...

They didn't run far at all. Sakura was vaguely grateful for that, but any semblance of positive feelings jolted out of her the moment she stepped down into the small clearing Hidan stopped at.

Spread eagle inside a strange symbol was one of her fellow leaf nin. One she didn't know, but that hardly lessened the shock - like a vicious punch to the gut - that she felt when she saw him. Blood splattered the ground around him in thick, congealing rivulets. The man inside the circle stretched his bloody hand as though he was drowning and reaching for some sort of salvation with his last breath. She watched his bloody hand wave in the air furiously, and then sluggishly - as though languidly greeting an old friend.

His head was split at the back like someone had tried to peel the skull apart and she could see his brain from where she was standing. Sakura didn't have to hide the feeling of revulsion slithering up her spine like a snake, settling - burning - in her throat as acidic bile crawled up and choked her. Her hands shook, cold sweat prickled on her skin. With wounds like those - impaled stomach, multiple lacerations, split skull - she wouldn't be able to help him anyway.

Hidan sauntered over and started barking questions that she didn't quite register. The vaguely hot, tight feeling of blood trickling down her chin was barely noticed when she bit her lip so hard it bled. The only thing that stopped her from launching herself at Hidan was the warning pulse the chakra near her heart gave.

Itachi ran his fingers lightly over the back of her hand when Hidan wasn't looking as she watched her comrade die in agony metres from her. She wasn't sure if he was comforting her or mocking her.

Seconds later he walked across and severed the man's throat in a flicker of metal and a thick gout of blood that leapt from the severed artery. Hidan let out a furious crow of anger - eyes sparking in indignation. Itachi ignored him entirely, and snapped out a few sentences that didn't quite reach her, and a few moments later they were running through the trees together without him. Sakura felt hot, salty tears crawl down her face in fat droplets, mingling with the blood that still dripped down.

She tried her very best to think of Sasuke.

...

They ran for what felt like the whole night, but it was still pitch black when they reached another cave. She didn't know why they had left the last, didn't ask. This one was lower down than the first and the air inside the small space smelt rich and musty - the sweetish odour of decay lingering. One look at the packed dirt floor and Sakura knew she would have stiff joints and bruises from the cold and the faint moisture - bedroll or not.

Her knees buckled the moment she stepped inside, opting to sluggishly watch Itachi set up yet another fire between them from the floor. The smell of blood was in her hair, and had dried in sticky patches on her skin.

"Will you take this genjutsu off?" She asked, voice wavering more than she might have liked.

She folded her legs up beneath her and unfolded her bedroll right beside the wall. This cave was even smaller than the last; she hated how close she would be to him while she slept. If he was going to try anything he would have by now, but that thought still didn't quite reassure her. She rubbed the area over her heart absentmindedly as she smoothed down the fabric - the feminine flesh could still be felt, but not seen - a flat boy's chest was all that was visible. Beneath her hand the chakra by her heart gave a low, relaxing thrum.

"No. It's... safer for you this way," he chose his words carefully, talking in a soothing manner that didn't sit quite right with her.

Lowering herself into a lying down position, she facing him with her back to the wall - eyes focused on him, unblinking. She would feel uncomfortable enough without her back being exposed. Logically, she knew he could kill her whatever way she was sleeping, but this still made her feel better. When he merely sat down across from her after setting up yet another genjutsu by the entrance she examined her new hands - larger than her own, clumsy, a few hairline scars. Questions surged to the forefront of her mind despite the foggy cover of exhaustion that had began to cloak her thoughts.

"Who am I meant to be?"

"That information is classified," Itachi murmured, closing his scarlet eyes.

She considered that for a moment; flicking through memorised bingo books, current and outdated, to try and find someone that matched the visage she had seen the reflection of in a puddle while running. Acid green hair and eyes were not a common combination, but if she had to guess she might have said Grass Village. Her memory was not quite photographic, but it was close enough. Nothing in the bingo books. No scrap of information that she remembered being mentioned at all. She supposed it wasn't as important as her next questions.

"And the meeting with Orochimaru - is that _classified_ as well?" Sakura muttered, emphasis behind the words stabbing through the silence.

He paused before saying quietly, "Technically."

Itachi began to remove his coat quickly and efficiently. She hated the loud popping noise that the fasteners made as he pulled the cloak open - there was something obscene, unsettling, about that noise that didn't quite sit right with her. Sakura drew the top of her bedroll over her fully clothed and tried to move discreetly into a more comfortable position. She tried to ignore the small voice that said he looked much better without that hefty cloak. Another said it should always be on - so that the blood red clouds could always remind her of his loyalties and of what he had done, lest she should let her guard slip. As though his eyes didn't do that already. As though she should need reminding at all.

"Mm, but it's relevant to our deal," she murmured, trying to keep the husky burr of tiredness from her voice.

The fire between them cracked and popped slightly. The shrieking noise a piece of wood made as air escaped it while burning made her think of the impaled Leaf and of Hidan. The blood she hadn't managed to get off of her face had dried and itched. Her fists tightened beneath the bedroll.

"I will consider exploring that avenue should the... meeting with Sasori's subordinate not go well," Itachi said, voice a little rougher around the edges than she might have expected.

"You'll _consider_ it, will you?" She hissed.

His expression became reproachful - bearing down on her like a tonne of bricks. Sakura refused to respectfully break her gaze from his and look away in the age old symbol of deference. She had deferred enough to him tonight, and she feared if she did so any more she would use whatever little credibility she had to start with.

"You sought my help, not the other way around. We will follow what I feel is the best course of action," Itachi said, courteous tone laced with a hint of steel.

Again, his reference to them as "we" - a single entity, a team - grated on her. She felt her eyelids begin to drop slightly as though weights had been attached to them. As the air in the small space heated the bitter, tangy smell of earth became far stronger - mingling with the entirely human smell of two heated bodies confined to a small space. She knew that he was right, but she still didn't like the way he took total control of the situation.

She noticed that he wasn't sitting with his back against the wall and wondered why. It would surely put an unnecessary strain on his back to sit like that. A second afterwards she took in the thin, filmy cover of moisture on the dark wall that she hadn't noticed before, the small moss and fungus growing on the slick rock. He had let her have the dry side without a moment's hesitation; Sakura wasn't sure what to think of that.

Her mouth opened to offer him a place on the dry side - she could move to give him room, but instead she heard herself say, "How exactly will this deal go, Itachi-san?"

It seemed he had expected this question because the answer he gave was prompt and well thought out. Concise and efficient in the way that only someone rigorously trained from a young age in giving clear military reports could be.

"We will gather information - mostly through the aforementioned meeting - and while we do so you will heal my eyes at night. Afterwards, we will stay in a base relatively near here for a time while we plan; there you will be able to work on my eyes more easily. If all else fails the trade with Orochimaru will be the back-up plan. After Sasuke has crossed the border into Konoha you will never see me again. I have other duties I must attend to, but I can work around them."

Sakura opened her mouth to speak again, but he cut across her, "Do you always have so many questions? Sleep."

She frowned at him despite the fact that tiredness took the edge off of her irritation. No traces of solider pills were left in her system. In the flickering firelight, she could see splatters of arterial blood from the recently killed Leaf nin showing brazenly on his pale skin like spots of black paint. She focused that image in her razor-sharp memory along with Sasuke face crumpled in anger and pain to stamp into herself exactly what he was.

A murderer and a traitor.

The fact that she had to keep reminding herself of that was the worst thing of all.

Blackness began to creep across the edge of her vision, cloaking her mind further. Sleep encroached whether she wanted it to or not. The faint dripping noises of water coming from the other side of the cave prompted a single thought to swim through the darkness of approaching sleep like a tiny silver fish in the middle of a vast ocean. Sakura closed her eyes - screwing them tightly shut before mustering up the courage, or idiocy to say,

"You can sleep on this side if you like."

...

* * *

Annnnnd, that's a wrap. I (foolishly) signed up for an art contest in the KakaSaku lj community (it's based on tarot! - I need not tell you that is awesome. I blame the awesomeness for my predicament. You should check it out, for srs.). And... yes, I did do art last year, but I _suck_ and I forgot this fact. (All I can draw are flowers, jugs and fruit - _how does that help?_ Will I just shove some pink hair on an apple, some silver hair on an orange and hope for the best? WILL I?) So, basically frantic drawing practise has taken up some time I usually use for writing.

Oh, and a big thank you to all of my lovely reviewers and favouriters - I heart you to _the extreme_. Usually, I try to do at least some replies to reviews, but I've been failing a bit on that front lately. I suck. In particular, I'd like to give a big, slobbery thank you kiss to Unisawr/Unsawr - who always gives good reviews, and that last one was no exception.

Ps. Anyone who gets the vague Pinter reference gets an e-cookie. Oh, Pinter, I think you just liked to swear, you cad.

Thanks for Reading,

Silver ~ x


	5. Beat 5

**Pulse**

* * *

...

...

_Beat 5_

...

...

...

Keeping his breathing heavy and even, Itachi remained perfectly still as Haruno began to stir.

Without opening his eyes he knew she was awake - heard the faint shuffling of her rearranging her limbs, felt the tug of the chakra he had implanted in her to act as a contract, almost a leash, though he wouldn't have described it so vulgarly. He felt her eyes sliding across his form as she obviously tried to make it seem as though she was still deep in unconsciousness. He did not tend to sleep very much and with an unfamiliar, possible threat lying beside him it was foolish and near impossible to try to do so.

Itachi simply sat in a state of semi-deep meditation that allowed his mind and body to rest enough for him to function properly. He felt the faint tug of the energy he was expanding to keep her signature hidden and the genjustu around her body more acutely than he normally would have, but pointedly ignored it. Inwardly, he changed the schedule he had planned for them - choosing to stop in a nearby base just inside the border of Ame rather than continue passed it. It should be empty at this time of year.

His quick mind continued to reply the events of the past few days over and over again as he evaluated everything that had happened. The images swam behind his closed eyelids vivid and crystal clear - swelling to fill his mind. She had tracked him, had _propositioned_ him (and that thought amused him more than anything else. Almost enough to make his lips quirk into a tiny smirk) and had survived a semi-dangerous binding ritual.

Now, having an extra, previously unplanned for person was not a particularly terrible irritation and he could work around her.

Hidan was the most pressing problem at the moment.

One which could effectively be eliminated if he had the time or inclination to do so - which he had neither of. Either way, it would be far easier to keep this genjutsu on her so that - should they encounter any Akatsuki he would have little explaining to do, if any. He also preferred the genjustu because it dulled her expressions behind the illusion, killed the infuriating glitter in her eyes and made it far easier to detach himself from the situation entirely.

She was a Healer and Kyuubi-bait if it came to that; nothing more and nothing less.

It was just that look in her eyes that riled him up in a way he hadn't experienced since cousin Shisui all those years ago. They were two of the few people unafraid to look him directly in the eye - to put up any kind of resistance even when in a vulnerable position. He hated that one look from her gleaming eyes could invoke any kind of emotion in him - positive or negative - and the genjutsu stamped down on that.

She seemed to be far more brazen when his eyes were closed - she hated to look into them, he knew, hated the pain and death he was sure she associated them with... and then there was his foolish outou in the mixture too. He could hear her moving to sit slightly, feel her encroaching body heat and wondered if she remembered that he had told her killing him would result in her own death.

Itachi remained perfectly still - a predator slinking silently behind unwary prey - and waited for her to make the, probably very foolish move, on her own terms. It would be good to establish from this point just how close an eye he would have to keep on her.

It would have made things much simpler, he reflected later, had she chosen to attack.

...

Waking up was not a pleasant experience.

It wasn't as though she was even touching him, but being close enough that his scent filled her senses with each breath was deeply unnerving. A mixture of pine-needles, leather and kunai oil with a harsh undertone of ash - almost identical to Sasuke's. Rather than pleasantly reminding her of him, it put her teeth on edge and would probably taint Sasuke's scent for her should she ever come across it again.

Sakura snapped open her vivid lime green eyes - slowly adjusting to the smoky darkness around them. The blurred body shape she could make out as she looked down at herself was still that of a skinny boy, though she felt none of her chakra being expended to maintain the illusion. A further examination of her system showed that the pinprick of Itachi's chakra still lingered by her heart - near dormant, but lightly humming in a manner that almost reminded her of a satisfied feline.

Her eyes turned to Itachi - though she remained perfectly still and made an effort to keep her breathing deep and long like someone in the depths of slumber. His eyes were closed, the pale unnerving gleam of Sharingan hidden for once. She took the opportunity to look at him - really _look_ at him - without his unnerving hawk-like gaze on her. As her eyes adjusted to the inky blackness she could make out the dark fan of his eyelashes lying against his cheeks, the casual fold of his arms around his torso, the glint of the necklace at his throat, the barely noticeable spots of blood that still dotted his face in obscene splatters...

Sakura felt her teeth clench tightly as she thought of the bloody hand waving in a twisted salute. Those small marks bothered her more than she would ever let on. Moving slowly, liquidly, into a sitting position she raised a finger to her mouth and lightly flicked her tongue across it. Still somewhat in the muggy grasp of sleep, Sakura considered what she had just had the urge to do.

Clean him.

And, really, that was innocuous enough. The amount of times she had mopped ramen off of Naruto's face were ridiculously high and she regularly straightened Kakashi's shirt after healing him or lightly smoothed down the odd strand of Ino's shimmering golden hair if they were out shopping on a windy day. But this wasn't her friends she was talking about - it was Uchiha Itachi.

Those small dark marks looked profusely dirty on his pale skin, even though she knew for his crimes he deserved to be marked for life.

Letting out the smallest sigh, she reached out until her fingers were quivering less than a hair's breadth away from the skin of his face - so close that she could feel the heat curling from his flesh - before stopping and pulling her hand away. Her green eyes darted across his features for any hint that he had noticed her movement.

Oblivious to the pair of red eyes that snapped open and fixed on her form until long after she fell asleep, the emotion in them inscrutinable.

...

The next time Sakura woke it was obviously far later judging by the sickly yellow quality of the faint light that managed to penetrate even their underground camp. Itachi was awake and packing up his sparse belongings by the sounds of things and if she just kept her eyes closed she could bask in the faint lingering comfort of sleep and pretend it was just Naruto, or Kakashi.

Then the guilt at the thoughts of her teammates reared its head and she was forced to stop that train of thought entirely.

A sharp pulse of the chakra close to her heart - like the prickling burn of heartburn - was enough to jerk her into full, hideous consciousness. Casting a baleful glare in the direction of the culprit Sakura made a show of stretching out her _still _boyish limbs and yawning slightly. Apparently this was Itachi's cue to toss her a small sachet of field rations and stride out of the cave with his cloak swirling impressively around him.

Experimentally, Sakura felt for the chakra she had left planted in his system, but found that she couldn't locate it despite probably focusing hard enough to burst several blood vessels. Rubbing the spot on her chest above her heart, she scowled and peeled open the foil package with little gusto. Of course he wouldn't give her any hold over him at all. A small flicker of appreciation made itself apparent when she began chewing the bland breakfast, but Sakura told herself firmly that he was only feeding her because she would be thoroughly useless if she died of starvation.

Her bag hadn't been packed for more than the three day trip to Konoha and now she was running low on supplies. Itachi, being the devious bastard he was, had probably rifled through her meagre bag when she wasn't looking, but in the face of hunger Sakura hardly felt the need to complain. Standing, she brushed the crumbs from her body, checked that the ashes of the fire were well and truly cold and walked outside into the watery pre-dawn sunlight.

Itachi was waiting outside, the slight flicker of his expression telling her in no uncertain terms that he had just been doing something she was not meant to see. Judging by the lingering buzz of chakra in the air and the way he discreetly adjusted his ring suggested some kind of communication jutsu. As asking him directly would probably be a waste of time and energy, Sakura broached a more mundane topic.

"Going to remove this genjutsu?" she asked, adjusting the strap of her boot with some difficulty considering the fact that the illusion meant she couldn't actually _see_ it.

The cold look he sent her was the only answer she really needed.

"I aim for us to arrive in Rain by tonight."

Sakura tried not to flinch at the thought of just how fast they would have to run to achieve that. Without another word, he turned and launched himself into the trees leaving her to follow like some kind of obedient puppy.

For the most part the journey was relatively smooth. They paused to eat around midday, but didn't even stop to sit. Itachi paused on a particularly large branch, handed her another foil package when she almost knocked him down after the unexpected stop, and then ate quickly and silently.

Around two o'clock every muscle in her entire body felt as though it was on fire. Sakura spent a good portion of her time scowling at his unbending back - always in front of her, mocking her inability to run level with him. The route Itachi chose surprised her a little; she had expected them to dip briefly into the Fire Country to avoid the marshes that ran along the border of Grass and Rain, but instead they headed straight for them.

Sakura was not particularly pleased about this. The fumes from the stagnant water ranged from putrid to utterly rancid - mostly reminding her of Naruto's wet woollen socks after a long mission. Chakra had to be expanded constantly in order to keep running steadily across the mixture of water and mud and the low, hazy fog lying over the marsh never shifted. It swirled around their ankles until midday, when it rose until Sakura was left following the edge of Itachi's cloak - unable to see anything else.

Huffing to herself, she irritably tugged her drenched hair away from her face and ignored the ache that had begun to build up in her muscles. She hated the oppressive weight of the mist and the lack of visibility made her increasingly edgy as they continued to run with no sign of stopping. If he was to leave her now, she would be hopelessly lost. The only thought that reassured her was that if he had meant to kill her, he certainly would have by now.

Somewhere in the sky she hadn't seen for what felt like an eternity, the sun was beginning to set. The whiteness of the mist became more of a dirty grey that made her feel as though she was going blind. Sakura frowned as her visibility dropped to the point where she was forced to follow Itachi's familiar, barely noticeable chakra signal because she couldn't even see his outline anymore.

Sometime after the sun had set completely, Sakura's chakra flickered alarmingly.

Panicked, she assured herself that she still had enough left to run for the rest of the night and then some. A few minutes later it flickered so furiously her foot plunged ankle deep into the filthy water of the marsh with an embarrassingly loud splash and a series of muttered curses before she managed to reign in her control. For someone who found precise control as easy and as natural as breathing that was more than frightening - especially when the next step she took lead to mud creeping up to her thighs.

Sakura struggled a little, hissing in irritation and all the while mindful of the fact that if she lost Itachi she would most likely wander around until she died here. The thick, sticky substance soaked through her clothes within seconds and seemed to pull her even further into the pool until some it just brushed her armpits. The sense of panic welled up with it as the acrid stench of rotting vegetation made her choke and cough - the splashing, sucking sounds of the marsh around her crashing over irrational thought.

They hadn't touched or spoken all day, but now Itachi slid his long fingered hands around her waist and yanked her forcefully out of the marsh she had began to sink into - his own chakra giving the tiniest waver that only someone as adept with chakra as she was might have noticed.

"We have entered an old sealing area which still affects chakra," he said quietly, still holding her up, despite how she arched to hold herself away from him," but I did not realise it would cause you such trouble. We are in Rain now, there is not much further to go. Can you run at all?"

His tone has a harsh and almost impatient edge beneath the layer of politeness he kept shielded around himself at all times - she felt his chakra within her shift uneasily, as though it was boiling and bubbling within her body. Paying attention to the way it reacted made it far easier to understand just what he was thinking.

Prickly, burning embarrassment swelled up as Sakura looked down at her own, now dangling, feet. Itachi was supporting her with ease. When she gave no answer, he swung his arm under the crook of her knee and pulled her up into the absolutely mortifying so called 'bridal position'. Sakura dearly wished to become acquainted with the disgusting, foul marsh water at this point.

"I'm not a princess with a twisted ankle!" She hissed, twisting so much she was sure he was tempted to drop her. The bruise-inducing grip he had on her limbs certainly suggested so.

"Certainly, but you are throwing a tantrum like one at the moment," he murmured, setting off at his usual speed-demon pace - his words almost lost in the rush of the wind, "This is the most efficient course of action."

The bite at his words made her look shamefully down at his blurred feet and the mushed greenery beneath - angry pinpricks of hot moisture forming at the corner of her eyes as she bit her lip almost hard enough to draw blood. It had been quite some time since anyone had needed to carry her, and the mortification stung - scraping across her skin like a thousand needles. This person especially was one she didn't want to look weak in front of.

Later, when the muscles in her arms in legs were beginning to ache from keeping perfectly still in his jostling grip she wondered how ridiculous this must look - with Uchiha Itachi carrying what looked like a small, green haired boy like a delicate noble woman.

Later still, when he had said there wasn't much further to go - either he lied, or his concept of distance was very different from hers - and the boredom pressed on her enough that she chanced beginning a conversation.

"How well did you know Sasori?" was her opener, as she glared disinterestedly at the mist above her while carefully watching him out of her peripheral vision.

The blank look he gave her was entirely unencouraging.

"At all?" she pressed, folding her tighter arms around her body and watching him look blankly down at her, hair swirling in the wind.

"The fact that I assume you saw him true form would make you more knowledgeable about Sasori than his own partner is", was his succinct answer.

Sighing, Sakura gave up on any talk after that and focused on holding her body as far away from his as she could without tumbling from his grip and completely ignoring the not at all soothing body heat that radiated from him even in the chill of the surrounding night and mist.

Eventually the mist and pervasive dampness faded to reveal lush, rolling hills tinted with the finally visible moonlight. Sakura tried to disguise her delight as she breathed in the sweet, fresh air and felt the chakra begin to return to her cramped limbs. Even still he refused to release her, despite the completely unsubtle attempt she made at trying to elbow him in the ribs hard enough to crack a bone, wriggling like a cat.

A single look from those hateful eyes - heavy and red like bloody flesh - was enough to still her to a lump of quivering anger although she knew the chakra was seeping too slowly back into her system for her to be of much use for at least an hour. He ran for only another ten minutes or so - it must have been - before taking a few sharp turns and finally coming to a complete halt.

More carefully than she might have liked, he tipped her to the side so that her feet slid touched the unruly grass lightly. A clearly begrudged 'thank you' slipped, acidic, from her lips before she could stop herself.

Her limbs cramped the moment she stretched and stood on her own two feet - though she gritted her teeth and willed the lactic acid build-up away with all of her considerable willpower and medical skill. When she gave the slightest quiver - like a leaf caught in a strong gust of wind - his hand immediately slinked out towards her - not quite touching her, but there to prop her up if need be.

"Don't -" she muttered, making an angry swatting movement in his direction. She hated his courtesy - that fine, polished veneer of politeness that covered him like a shroud at all times.

He withdrew silently after a warning glance. It disturbed her slightly that she had begun to detect nuances of his emotions through his expressions already, but put that down to years of contact with Sasuke. Turning away, but keeping on guard, she regarded the place they had finally stopped at.

It wasn't the worst place Sakura had ever been forced to spend the night in, but it wasn't even in the same universe as acceptable. Acceptable and this base were currently very distant solar systems apart.

The building was something between a shack, and the seasonal longhouses that dotted the remote countryside of the Fire country - which were only used for a few months each year to graze cattle, sheep or other livestock in the arable land around them. Thin, long and narrow it sprawled drunkenly at the bottom of a hill - seemingly leaning against the slope for support, although Sakura suspected some kind of underground network lead from the building into the earth beneath and behind it.

There were only two small slit-like windows with dull, filthy glass panes that were mostly missing or broken, the door appeared to be one over-zealous tap away from sawdust and the mould and mildew that spotted the roof-tiles and wooden walls gave a delightful impression of neglect. Internally, Sakura was considering the far more welcoming knot of trees a few dozen metres away.

Itachi brushed past towards the dwelling.

Fingernails digging crescents into her palms, and toes curled with anger within her heavy boots, she stalked after him.

She welcomed the grasping claws of fury that dug into her skin as the door swung shut behind her and the thick, musty darkness enveloped them from all sides. Anger was better than fear any day.

...

...

* * *

I've been busy, but here is the update! Not much else to say other than that... This was more of a transition chapter and I struggled with it a tad. I think you'll enjoy the next few staying-in-the-base sections if you're still there lovely readers!

Thanks for reading ~

Silver.


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